Russia says Gazprom needs documents to enable return of gas turbine

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s Gazprom is awaiting documents that will allow the return of the serviced Nord Stream 1 gas turbine from Germany, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

Russia has cut gas supplies via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, a key route feeding Europe with Russian gas, to just a fifth of its capacity, citing technical issues with gas turbines supplied by Siemens Energy.

The first turbine, at the centre of an energy standoff with the West, is being held up in Germany following servicing in Canada and Russia said that documents are needed to show it does not come under Western sanctions.

Earlier on Wednesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Russia had no reason to hold up the return of the turbine.

Also on Wednesday it emerged that Russian President Vladimir Putin told former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder during their meeting last week that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline was ready to be used to help increase gas supplies to Europe.

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline has been finished but has not been put into use due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent wide-reaching sanctions.

Peskov said that Putin told Schroeder that Russian gas supplies have fallen to around 30 million cubic metres per day from 167 million cubic metres after Poland placed the Yamal-Europe pipeline under sanctions and Ukraine stopped flows via one of the routes.

He said Schroeder had been discussing the obstacles to gas supply and had asked whether the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline could be used.

“Putin was not initiating this, Putin did not propose to switch it on,” Peskov said, adding that Nord Stream 2, if launched, could supply 27 billion cubic metres this year. “Putin said that the (Nord Stream 2) pipeline was ready to be used.”

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel and Elaine Hardcastle)